To the Administrator Addressed

April 22, 2009

To the Administrator Addressed:

Subject: Public Reporting of District Performance on State Performance Plan Indicators against State Targets

In accordance with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 statute, Section 616(b)(2)(C)(i)(II), states are required to publicly report district performance against the state targets in the State Performance Plan (SPP). Each spring, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) produces a District Profile of State Performance Plan Indicators Report for each district in the state, available on the TEA website at: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/spp/distprofiles.html. This information will be posted on April 22, 2009. This report reflects the district’s performance against the state target for SPP Indicators 1-14 for a given year. The TEA draws on a variety of data sources to compile this District Profile:  Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) dataset for Indicators 1 (Graduation) and 2 (Dropout);  Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) dataset for Indicators 3A-C (Participation and Performance on Statewide Assessments);  Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) for Indicators 4 (Discipline), 5 (Educational Environment, ages 6-21), 6 (Educational Environment, ages 3-5), 9 and 10 (Disproportionality);  annual survey results from a sample of districts for Indicators 8 (Parent Participation) and 14 (Post-School Outcomes); and  state data collection systems for Indicators 7 (Early Childhood Outcomes), 11 (Timely Initial Evaluations), 12 (Early Childhood Transition), and 13 (Secondary Transition).

The state targets for Indicators 1, 2, 3A, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 14 are set by the Texas Education Agency with advisement from the Texas Steering Committee. The state targets for indicators 3B-C reflect established No Child Left Behind (NCLB) AYP targets.

The state targets for Indicators 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 are compliance oriented and set by the US Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs. These targets are set at either 0% noncompliance identified (Indicators 9 and 10) or 100% compliance identified (Indicators 11, 12, and 13). A district’s compliance status is publicly reported as “Yes” (in compliance) or “No” (not in compliance). The targets and methodologies for each of these indicators for the given year can be found on the TEA website at http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/spp/.

All districts and charter schools in the state are included in the District Profile of State Performance Plan Indicators Report; however, some districts may not have met all the reporting requirements for specific indicators. For example, districts that did not meet the minimum “N” size for reporting would not have data to be included in the report. Due to small numbers, data for Indicators 8 and 14 are reported at a regional level and can be found on the TEA website at http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/spp/.

Districts are encouraged to share the results of the District Profile of State Performance Plan Indicators with interested stakeholders. Additionally, in accordance with 34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §300.608, “if a local education agency (LEA) does not meet the targets in the state’s performance plan, the LEA is prohibited from reducing maintenance of effort (MOE) under 34 CFR §300.203 for any [this] fiscal year.”

Should you have any questions regarding the District Profile of State Performance Plan Indicators you may call the Division of IDEA Coordination at 512.463.9414.

Sincerely,

Anita Givens Associate Commissioner Standards and Programs